Unbreakable Vow
by Lord Elrond of Hogwarts
Summary: Dumbledore makes Snape promise…. And that promise now changes many lives. Good or evil? SPOILER FOR HBP.


Unbreakable Vow

Disclaimer: I am not the wonderful, talented J.K. Rowling. If I was Rowling, I would be rolling around in a pile of Harry Potter books, quizzing myself and pretending that I was each of the characters in turn. I am not claiming that I am insane, of course, but—Okay, down to business: I do not make any money off of this story!

Summary: Dumbledore makes Snape promise…. And that promise now changes many lives. Good or evil? **SPOILER FOR HBP**.

This story is dedicated to my great friend, Kaaera, because she put this thought in my head. After reading HBP, I spoke with her, and she, like so many others, have a good point: What if Snape was acting on Dumbledore's orders and that looking of disgust on his face was directed towards himself? I personally cannot take sides; I was angry with Snape, but there are so many clues that lead to both takes…. Well, here is the take that Snape is innocent. JK is the kind of person who would do just that.  Not that anyone is complaining…..

**You better have read HBP before you read this. Shame on you if you haven't. _:blasts everyone who hasn't with her wand:_ And who says that homemade wands are bad?**

Unbreakable Vow

A small figure sat huddled at the base of a gnarled, old tree. It was a man, dressed in typical wizard's garb, breathing deeply, resting his head against the trunk and closing his eyes slowly.

Yesterday, a great tragedy had taken place. One that would forever mar the soul of Severus Snape, now self-proclaimed Death Eater of Voldemort. Not that he wanted to be.

His conscience was screaming with white-hot agony. He had killed hundreds of times; Voldemort's trusted spy filled half of the graves of London, but the last murder that he had committed had stained his heart with a deep red blood that would never ever go away. Yet he had been forced to do it, forced by both sides. Voldemort and Narcissa wanted him to finish Draco's job should the youth not be able to complete it and Dumbledore had also had some of the same instructions, and, though the former professor was loathe to remember it, that conversation came clearly with these self-condemning thoughts and he sighed wearily.

/_"Ah, Severus, thank you for your prompt arrival," Albus Dumbledore, fully alive, said lightly, sitting at his desk with his two mismatching hands. _

_Snape inclined his head in greeting towards the old man. He sat down in the chair opposite the Headmaster as the elder wizard opened the conversation. "We are living in dark times, Severus, dark times," he said, and there was a weariness in his voice that had only begun to show itself since his last fight with Voldemort._

_"We are at war," the professor stated simply._

_"Indeed we are. And it seems that the war has found its way into my school…." The old wizard shook his head mournfully, his voice tinged with sorrow. "It has been two days since the second open attack on the students." Snape kept quiet, not knowing what he should say that would put the Headmaster at ease. "But I know, Severus. I am very well aware of our young Draco Malfoy."_

_Severus Snape flinched. Of course the old sage would have known about Draco's feeble attempts to kill him; it was rather foolish, Snape reflected, to have hoped that this would escape Dumbledore's notice. Well, now he was forced to say something. The silence was almost as overwhelming as the knowing stare that Dumbledore laid on his employee. "The Dark Lord has threatened his family," Snape said, almost defensively. _

_"I knew it had to be something like that," Dumbledore mused aloud. "That is why I have not detained him or spoken to him about it. I wish not for young Draco to come to any harm, Severus, as you well know, but I cannot continue to risk the lives of my other students. Ms. Bell's attack could have resulted in something much more terrible and we are lucky that Mr. Potter was able to save Mr. Weasley before he, too, became the latest casualty." _

_Snape sat a little straighter in his chair. "What are you going to do?" he asked harshly, almost fearing the other man's answer. Dumbledore was cunning and shrewd; sometimes you just couldn't know what to expect from him._

_"The correct question, Severus, is what I want _you_ to do," came the simple reply. When Albus was met with a blank look, he continued, "Draco will not stop in his attempts to murder me. I want you to talk to him; you made that pact with Mrs. Malfoy and he knows it. If he thinks that you are looking out for his well being, then perhaps he will listen to you. After all, you wouldn't want him to get caught." The last sentence was spoken with particular meaning and Snape knew that Dumbledore thought that a good excuse to approach the young Slytherin with. Well, it was the best the new D.A.D.A. professor could come up with at the moment, though he would try to think of better. Draco would definitely try to rebel against that one._

_"Secondly, I want you to face the facts with me, Severus, no matter how terrible they may seem. I am not as young as I used to be," here he held up his withered, black hand, "and yet Voldemort," Snape flinched but said nothing, "still has the same interest in me that he has had for so many years. I am weak and the first on the list to be murdered, apparently. It is going to happen this year; I feel it in my bones."_

_This was a rather shocking statement for the former Potions master and Snape could not hide the affect from his normally impassive face. Yes, it was something he had considered since being told of the plan, considering it more studiously after the Unbreakable Vow, but it was almost too terrible a thought to imagine the old man gone. Dumbledore had always been there… what would happen to the Wizarding world once its protector had died?_

_"All that I ask of you, Severus, in addition to trying to stop young Mr. Malfoy from harming other students is that you do not prolong it." Dumbledore caught Snape's cold black eyes and held the other's gaze. "This year, I shall be caught in a situation that I cannot control. I have already set upon myself the unknown dangers of following the Horcruxes. It may be on one of those journeys that I will meet my end, but still, keep a close eye on Mr. Malfoy. Should he ever get the chance to get close enough to me to perform the Avada Kedavra, please do all you can to make sure that he does not suffer either. I ask for a swift death at hands that are already stained with blood," his voice got softer, so that his next sentence was spoken in a whisper. "I still believe that Mr. Malfoy can turn on the right path, with a little guidance."_

_There were several long moments of silence. Snape contemplated what Dumbledore had just said. Was he really asking the other wizard to kill him? Could Severus Snape actually cause the death of the most accomplished wizard of all time? The one who had always helped him—? _

_"Can I have your word, Severus, that you will do all you can to help me in this endeavor?" Albus asked quietly after some time. Snape wondered fleetingly if he was going to have to swear to another Unbreakable Vow._

_"Very well," he said resignedly. Dumbledore offered his left hand to his colleague who shook it half-heartedly. _

_"Then I shall take your word for it, Severus, and I know in my heart that you will not fail me."_/

"Yes, you fool," Severus Snape whispered to the cold night. "I kept my promise, though death would have been preferable." He could just imagine the wise old wizard quirking an eyebrow in amusement at these words, with that twinkle that never left his eye. "Yes, I have learned that there are things worse than death. My soul is dead on the inside. I feel like I could make several hundred Horcruxes now."

"Professor Snape?" a small, tentative voice came from behind the tree. Severus didn't even look behind him, already knowing who it was. As much as he hated himself for it, he both loved and hated this person behind him. Curse Albus Dumbledore for teaching him those terrible emotions. And yet he did not begrudge them room in his thoughts, in his heart, his tortured soul.

"Yes, Draco?" he asked wearily.

"I wanted to talk to you about my mission," Draco said, sitting cautiously on the dead grass in front of the man. Snape made no move towards conversation, so he continued. "I—I am sorry for giving you such a hard time this year. I know that I let the back-up in on my own and that was what you were trying to help me with, so I do not regret not taking your help, but—" He was obviously very nervous and perhaps even terrified of what Snape might do at any moment, so he forced the words out almost as if they were all connected. "—But I could not complete the biggest part of my task and for that I do thank you. The Dark Lord knows of my inadequacy, but…." His voice trailed off and Severus took a moment to reflect on the lad's vocabulary. It was unlike Draco to use any word that was more than two or three syllables. Usually "Potty" or "Weasel" was the extent.

"I am not angry with you for getting cold feet," the silky voice answered. "We shall speak of it no more." There. The words that he had desperately hoped to hear directed at him. He really did not think that he could bear the thought of Dumbledore's death any longer, especially when it had been at his own hands.

"Professor, can I tell you something?" Draco inched closer and lowered his voice to a whisper, ignoring the other man's wish to not speak of the terrible deeds having taken place in the last twenty-four hours. Finally, Snape lifted his head and looked at the boy, whereas moments before he had been idly studying the stars with his own thoughts.

"I… I do not know how I am ever going to do this job," he said ashamedly, lowering his head, unable to stand the gaze of his elder. "I could not kill Dumbledore; I have known him for so long and he was in a pitiable state…. I have felt grief for it ever since."

Snape held up a silencing hand, shushing the boy. Draco shuddered and thought that he was going to be reprimanded, yelled at, perhaps even handed over to the Dark Lord with this news and his insides turned to ice. He looked in fear at the other Death Eater. He could not forget the cold, merciless eyes of his father. The thought came to him too late that this was another of his master's followers, one of his closest, and the ones that Voldemort trusted the most were the ones with the true mark of loyalty: caring most about their lord and doing all they could to extinguish any hint of traitors or incompetence in their ranks.

"Do not speak of such things," was all that Snape said, much to the teenager's relief. "There are eyes and ears where you have not yet learned and the Dark Lord would make you regret having said those words." He graced the blond-haired boy with a tight, thin-lipped smile to show that he appreciated the honesty and that their trust had not been broken, yet it was too dangerous a time to discuss any alliance that did not lie unquestioningly with the Dark Lord.

Draco Malfoy nodded and they sat in silence. _'Albus,'_ Snape could not help but think, _'perhaps I will be able to save him yet. You were a fool in life, but you never gave up on me. As a tribute to your memory, I will do all I can to not give up on Draco.'_ That vow he made and knew he would keep, even though Merlin and the stars were the only witnesses.

From this day forth, let it be known that Severus Snape had not wanted to kill Albus Dumbledore, but honored the valiant wizard with one last, unbroken promise before his death.


End file.
